Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley grabs a pass against Tennessee Titans linebacker Will Witherspoon at Lambeau Field in December 2012. File/Press-Gazette Media

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From my vantage point, rumors of tight end Jermichael Finley’s departure from the Green Bay Packers appear to be greatly exaggerated.

In December a published report stated that the Packers had already decided to dump Finley at the end of the season. That made no sense at the time because that’s not how general manager Ted Thompson operates. Thompson is normally measured and level-headed and doesn’t make a decision on the fate of an active player until after the season ends.

It’s one thing if someone within the Packers organization expressed displeasure with Finley and wanted to get rid of him. Personnel evaluators wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t bring a wealth of varied opinions to the table.

But it’s quite another to make the bold presumption that Thompson had already made up his mind and was going to release Finley. It is, after all, Thompson who has final say on personnel decisions, with input from coach Mike McCarthy.

Finley played well in the latter stages of last season, so much so that McCarthy heaped praise on his tight end at his season-ending press conference.

At the combine over the weekend, McCarthy continued to offer strong support for Finley, even though it will cost the Packers $8.25 million this season to keep him for the final year of his contract.

McCarthy did not sound like a coach that was getting ready to dump his tight end.

“I think it was clearly his best year, particularly on the 2-yard drag routes and things like that,” McCarthy said of Finley’s 2012 season. “I was very pleased with the way Jermichael played there in the second half and he improved a number of different areas of his game.”

Having said all that, anything is possible in the NFL and if the Packers need to rid themselves of some significant salary cap dollars, they could always consider doing it at Finley’s expense.

But the signs point to that not happening.

The Packers’ high-powered offense needs weapons, and Finley gives Aaron Rodgers another dangerous target that opposing defenses must account for. If the Packers allow receiver Greg Jennings to go in free agency, which appears likely, then that would be all the more reason to retain Finley. Could the Packers afford to lose both Jennings and Finley? I think not.

Despite Finley’s blocking deficiencies and what some perceive as his loose lips, the Packers would be making a mistake if they let him go.

Everybody’s entitled to an opinion about Finley and what the Packers might or might not do with him. But at this point, the talk of his potential release sounds like idle chatter.